When a love story ends in failure (for non-Tamil folks when the couple do not end up together at the end), the end of the story is its message. And this message is usually regressive, even in highly rated films - sacrifice your life for your girl (Titanic), avenge her death (Ghajini), end your life if she is dead (Romeo/Juliet, Dil Se), pine for her, even if she has moved on (Vinnai Thandi Varuvaya), help her love succeed (Poove Unakkaga). All such stories may not imply that though the love ends in 'failure', their triumph lies in the message. The makers may accuse any such interpretation as over analysis. But in some cases, the films boldly wear out this message (VTV leaves a message in both endings).
When a love story ends in success (couple get do together and live happily ever after), the end of the story is its message. It is almost always the same: "True love triumphs; beats all odds. So just hang in there." I do not know what true love is but the pattern repeats consistently (Alaipayuthey, Minnale, DDLJ). Once again, the message is usually not explicit.
I heard about an independent English film "500 Days of Summer", when many people accused that VTV was a rip-off of that movie. My curiosity increased when my friend mentioned that two movies are not related at all, but had an interesting take on its ending. I happened to see the movie only yesterday. To tell that VTV has some connection with "500 Days of Summer" is absurd. The lead pair sit at a park towards the end and talk about life. And the guy picks himself up after the mess (that "one way ticket to heart-break city") and moves on. Other than that and both of them being romance flicks, there is nothing in common between them. I think 500 Days of Summer is more like Kadhalil Sodapuvathu Eppadi than VTV.
And like the movies in this genre it leaves you with a message. The film is so delightfully made that you will love it without regards to the message. ( The third person point of view introductions of the leads. The impromptu gig in a Hollywood movie. Witty conversations and post cards. The name of the other woman. My favourite scene is when both Summer and the guy shout "penis" repeatedly in a park, like a Ganapathi Bhappa chant). So what is the message? My friend told me that a guy who is 'cheated' by his girlfriend (Summer), 'gets' a hotter chick at the end (Autumn).
Here is my take on the message part. The build up to the message is deliberately laid from the beginning. The guy is on the look out for the one girl he is destined to meet. That flawless goddess turns out to be Summer. Subtly and otherwise we are made to believe that she is way out of his league. Summer likes our guy; she lets him through the gates that no other person has ever been through (no pun here. Seriously. There is a scene when she admits to this). But she is convinced that he is not the guy for her - old lessons, she says. So when she refuses to take the relationship further and disappears leaving our guy heart-broken it is not because he is stuck in a boring job or he is not in her league, but because of this conviction of hers. You would feel pity for a guy whose heart break is worsened by among other things - the shattering of his belief. His dream girl just dumped him and destiny has failed him.
The guy later meets Summer and finds that she is married. She just felt right about her husband. How did she just start trusting people enough to marry one, our guy is made to wonder. We are left wondering if the guy was able to cure her mistrust of people and put an end her belief (that she will never be happy with any one - anti-thesis of our guy's beliefs), but ended up being a victim of his cure.
When the guy meets Autumn at the end of the movie, he is made to feel special. She has noticed him before. This is starkly in contrast to how he used to feel around Summer ("Are you serious that you are dating this chick?"). Finally it is the moment of realisation for him (and us): Do not believe too much in destiny. It is all a coincidence and things happen 'with randomness' (without a predetermined course). And in when Autumn says we can work their first date out without fuss - there is probably a message there- Just go with it.
The message is true not only with relationships, but probably with other things in life. We understand this randomness partly. Perhaps many superstitions of our life can be explained as a derivative of this flawed understanding. Success is random. Changing your name or the location of your bathtub is random too. But is it going to influence your success?
You pick up 'The Alchemist' at your neighbourhood book store and tell your friend, 'You know what? If you really want something, the whole world conspires, to get you what you want. That's what the book says. And in walks the girl of your dreams, scanning the stacks for some book. What coming together of destiny, prophetic words, Paul Coelho and the abstruse alchemy called love? No, it's coincidence dude!
When a love story ends in success (couple get do together and live happily ever after), the end of the story is its message. It is almost always the same: "True love triumphs; beats all odds. So just hang in there." I do not know what true love is but the pattern repeats consistently (Alaipayuthey, Minnale, DDLJ). Once again, the message is usually not explicit.
I heard about an independent English film "500 Days of Summer", when many people accused that VTV was a rip-off of that movie. My curiosity increased when my friend mentioned that two movies are not related at all, but had an interesting take on its ending. I happened to see the movie only yesterday. To tell that VTV has some connection with "500 Days of Summer" is absurd. The lead pair sit at a park towards the end and talk about life. And the guy picks himself up after the mess (that "one way ticket to heart-break city") and moves on. Other than that and both of them being romance flicks, there is nothing in common between them. I think 500 Days of Summer is more like Kadhalil Sodapuvathu Eppadi than VTV.
And like the movies in this genre it leaves you with a message. The film is so delightfully made that you will love it without regards to the message. ( The third person point of view introductions of the leads. The impromptu gig in a Hollywood movie. Witty conversations and post cards. The name of the other woman. My favourite scene is when both Summer and the guy shout "penis" repeatedly in a park, like a Ganapathi Bhappa chant). So what is the message? My friend told me that a guy who is 'cheated' by his girlfriend (Summer), 'gets' a hotter chick at the end (Autumn).
Here is my take on the message part. The build up to the message is deliberately laid from the beginning. The guy is on the look out for the one girl he is destined to meet. That flawless goddess turns out to be Summer. Subtly and otherwise we are made to believe that she is way out of his league. Summer likes our guy; she lets him through the gates that no other person has ever been through (no pun here. Seriously. There is a scene when she admits to this). But she is convinced that he is not the guy for her - old lessons, she says. So when she refuses to take the relationship further and disappears leaving our guy heart-broken it is not because he is stuck in a boring job or he is not in her league, but because of this conviction of hers. You would feel pity for a guy whose heart break is worsened by among other things - the shattering of his belief. His dream girl just dumped him and destiny has failed him.
The guy later meets Summer and finds that she is married. She just felt right about her husband. How did she just start trusting people enough to marry one, our guy is made to wonder. We are left wondering if the guy was able to cure her mistrust of people and put an end her belief (that she will never be happy with any one - anti-thesis of our guy's beliefs), but ended up being a victim of his cure.
When the guy meets Autumn at the end of the movie, he is made to feel special. She has noticed him before. This is starkly in contrast to how he used to feel around Summer ("Are you serious that you are dating this chick?"). Finally it is the moment of realisation for him (and us): Do not believe too much in destiny. It is all a coincidence and things happen 'with randomness' (without a predetermined course). And in when Autumn says we can work their first date out without fuss - there is probably a message there- Just go with it.
The message is true not only with relationships, but probably with other things in life. We understand this randomness partly. Perhaps many superstitions of our life can be explained as a derivative of this flawed understanding. Success is random. Changing your name or the location of your bathtub is random too. But is it going to influence your success?
You pick up 'The Alchemist' at your neighbourhood book store and tell your friend, 'You know what? If you really want something, the whole world conspires, to get you what you want. That's what the book says. And in walks the girl of your dreams, scanning the stacks for some book. What coming together of destiny, prophetic words, Paul Coelho and the abstruse alchemy called love? No, it's coincidence dude!